The best ideas to fix our government overspending. by Stevie B.
(libertarian)
Monday, March 1, 2010
Obama had tried to ‘fix’ the government by spending and taxing more…well it does not work. We have to understand the only way to ‘fix’ our problems is to cut spending and cut taxes.
Doing one without the other will not work, I know I don’t have the answers to all our problems but I know you can’t spend your way into financial health. But where do we start? Tax cuts are easy but where do we cut spending that is really the question.
Here is my take on saving the US. Please feel free to comment and tell me any other ideas that you see could work. I am not sure mine would but it makes for a good blog.
I believe that cutting salaries across the board by 15% for all government workers would be a good start. The current average salary for a government worker is $71,206.00 while the average salary for everyone else is $40,331.00 this is according to Dennis Cauchon of USA Today; quite a discrepancy.
I would continue these cuts over the next 3 to 6 years until government workers salaries match what the non-government worker makes. Of course we cannot do this until we disband all union workers in government. If they won’t disband we just fire them all and rehire workers that need jobs because we all know the union would not allow pay cuts even if they lose their jobs. Reagan did this with the FAA air traffic controllers and I believe this is what it will take to bring cost down to a reasonable level.
A mandate to stop all pork spending in bills is also needed. This has been a bane of our problems in the Congress and Senate for many many years. Both houses play fast and loose with our money and this needs to stop completely if we are to save America from bankruptcy.
Next I would try to turn the Post Office and Amtrak into a private industry; I believe a private company could turn these into profitable businesses unlike the government. Sell all stocks in GMC and Chrysler, and get out of the banking industry let the free market BE a free market.
The next step in this plan would be to audit the Federal Reserve to determine where we stand as a nation with them…which will no doubt open a can of worms. I would then decide whether to disband the Fed or not at that point.
The next step would be to audit and investigate Freddy and Fanny then do some serious prosecuting. Then at that point I would either close it down or sell all assets and turn it into a private company; either way get government out of the housing market.
It is time to put pressure all banks and insurance companies to start paying back all their loans. Stop the unspent TARP along with ALL discretionary spending until we have a balanced budget.
Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security…these are really the hard ones. No matter how we go about it these are not going to be easy fixes. For starters I would try to get all monies coming into SSI to go ONLY to SSI and keep it that way from here on out…an untouchable slush fund if you will.
To help in funding extra monies should come from the unspent TARP, selling the post office and Amtrak along with all the stocks we own in banks and the car industry. I know this is woefully lacking but it is a start.
Raise the retirement age would have to happen as well. When SSI was founded the average age of a man was 58 for a woman 62; retirement was at 65 this was a bet and the house was wining the bet by years.
Today an average life span is 78.3 according to [link edited for length] web site. The current early retirement age according to the Social Security web site is 62 is still years shorter than our life span and far shorter than our ability to work, I say bring the early retirement age up to 68 maybe even 70. Let us hedge our bets a little better.
Healthcare is a complicated issue with many variables. Start with serious TORT reform this is not even on the table in Obama’s plan. Next make sure all people on insurance see the total cost of the doctor’s visit and cost of the medication they are receiving. This will educate people on the cost; so many don’t see the full bill only the co-pay.
Government has been trying to prevent cost from rising by capping payout…this will never work. Instead work with hospitals and doctors to gain a competitive pricing system, make them compete for government work.
By doing this it will keep hospitals and doctors from pushing this cost on to the consumer and as they compete this will bring cost down for the consumer and for government as well, it won’t be overnight but it will bring the cost down.
Next allow sale of all insurance across state lines this will add to the competition and broaden the market and as the markets get competitive, prices will come down, simple free market principals.
Control our borders…simple as it sounds it has yet to be done. Make work vistas easier to obtain easier to extend and demand complete compliance with our laws. This alone would help with healthcare and SSI, keeping illegals off our system.
To stimulate the economy we have to produce and we have become a nation of consumers not producers. To change this we need to relax the regulation of our industries. Cap and Tax cannot be allowed to continue and government agencies have to be reined in to allow American companies to be able to compete globally.
This nation has to become a right to work nation. The unions have a strangle hold on our companies and government and we need to break that hold if we are ever to become the once strong nation we were. We must fumigate the termite called Unions from our house if we are to repair it.
An answer to all our ills? Not hardly but a good start. It has taken us years of progressive ‘ideas’ to get us into this mess. The idea that the government is here to save us, to give us work, an education, feed and clothe us, house us when we are poor and give us free medical care basically turning us into a nanny state is all part of the Progressive Utopia. This is the Progressive lie this is something that does not work.
Progressive utopia is a socialist dream, just a dream. The real utopia is hard earned, it is one we work for and struggle for most of our life. It is family, a good honest job; it is working toward a self sufficient life free of government shackles and handouts. We have lost sight of that utopia in exchange for the progressive/socialist utopia that does not work and is more nightmare than dreamland.
Look to those, this election, that will not just stop spending but reduce it as well. Look for those who can make the hard decisions who have a spine to stand up to the Progressives of both parties and tell them they are wrong and that their policies do not work. Look for those that are honest with themselves and with the people they represent.
Our nation is at a critical point where we either return to the values of our Founding Fathers or we turn to the failed policies of Europe and the Progressives. It is our choice, for now, make that choice with your vote; make it with an open eye and mind. If we fail here and now, I fear, we may never get a chance to get it back.
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do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
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Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: 2010-03-01 13:41:32
Hi Stevie,
 I didn't read your article so I don't have any comments about any of your ideas. Don't worry though; I'm sure some readers will engage you on the abstract level. I only skimmed it to see if you had any plans for implementing your ideas in the real world.
Personally, I don't care what your ideas are unless you first have a plan for getting people who like your ideas into elected office. You didn't mention anything like that in your article so I figured I'd just ask.
What is your plan for getting individuals who agree with you into key elected positions? There are an infinite number of plans that cannot achieve the desired results and only a couple that can do so in reality.
Here are some that are really easy to do but don't ever work:
1. Wait until November 3rd then start trying to influence whoever wins the election.
2. Winning a seat as a 3rd party candidate.
3. Resting on faith that being right is sufficient to bring your ideas into reality.
Any plan that might work will involve direct personal participation in the selection and vetting of local candidates on a wide spread and well coordinated basis for....well, forever. The struggle never ends. If you ever write about your plans for creating a world where your ideas are reality I'd read it with pleasure whether I agree or disagree.
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